T cell immune responses to mycobacterial antigens in Brazilian tuberculosis patients and controls.

Production of IFN-gamma guarantees helpful T cell-mediated immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. We have evaluated the in vitro immune responses to M. tuberculosis antigens using IFN-gamma production among 43 Brazilian tuberculosis (TB) patients prior to and after specific treatment, and 18 community controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were cultivated in the presence either of purified protein derivative, ferritin, 10 kDa, 38 kDa, MPT59, Ag85A or Ag85B. Also, the two M. tuberculosis and M. bovis heat-shock proteins (hsp) 65 and 70 kDa were compared, and 5 day supernatants were harvested for cytokine detection by ELISA. The results showed that the overall profile of primary PBMC in response to most M. tuberculosis antigens was well correlated, since high IFN-gamma levels were induced by Ag85A, Ag85B, 38 kDa, ferritin and 10 kDa, as well as M. tuberculosis hsp65 in TB patients. In addition, analysis was carried out of the in vitro expression of activation molecules on lymphocytes, as CD25 and CD69 expression assessed in 17 TB patients showed induction on CD4+ T cells by Ag85B. Overall, significantly low responses were found in untreated, in comparison with the treated TB patients. Furthermore, internal community but not healthy control individuals have higher immune responses than do TB patients.

Característica de la composición corporal de agresores y víctimas de bullying / Characteristics of the body composition of aggressors and victims of bullying

El objetivo fue verificar la composición corporal de escolares agresores y víctimas de bullying. Participaron en el estudio 184 alumnos de sexo masculino con media etaria de 12,77 años pertenecientes a una escuela de enseñanza pública de la ciudad de Florianópolis, Brasil. Fueron utilizados el Cuestionario para el Estudio de Violencia entre Pares, un examen socio-métrico, observación y el somatotipo. El análisis estadístico fue realizado a través del programa SPSS versión 14.0, con nivel de significancia fijado en p<0,05. La incidencia de alumnos partícipes en bullying fue 28,3 por ciento, donde 14,1 por ciento, 4,3 por ciento y 9,8 por ciento eran víctimas, agresores/víctimas y agresores, respectivamente. En relación a la clasificación del somatotipo, las víctimas obtuvieron clasificación endomórfica mesomorfo; los agresores/víctimas como mesomorfo equilibrado; y los agresores como endomórfico mesomorfo. Se encontraron evidencias, en términos antropométricos, de que los alumnos agresores presentaron mayores índices de IMC con predominio de masa corporal magra.

The study objective was to verify the school corporal composition of bullying victims and aggressors. A total of 184 boys with an average age of 12.77 years from a public school in the city of Florianópolis took part in this study. We used the Questionnaire for the Study of the Violence among Equal, a sociometric exam, observation and the somatotype. The statistical analysis was accomplished through the program SPSS, version 14.0, with significance level of p<0.05. The incidence was 28.3 percent of students involved in bullying, being 14.1, 4.3 and 9.8 percent were victims, aggressors/victims and aggressors, respectively. In relation to classification of the somatotype the victims obtained classification as endomorphic/mesomorphic; the aggressors/victims as balanced mesomorphic; and the aggressors as endomorphic/mesomorphic. We found evidences in anthropometric terms that the aggressor boys present larger indexes of IMC with prevalence of thin corporal mass.

Some arachnidan peptides with potential medical application

The search for new active drugs that can alleviate or cure different diseases is a constant challenge to researchers in the biological area and to the pharmaceutical industry. Historically, research has focused on the study of substances from plants. More recently, however, animal venoms have been attracting attention and studies have been successful in addressing treatment of accidents. Furthermore, venoms and their toxins have been considered good tools for prospecting for new active drugs or models for new therapeutic drugs. In this review, we discuss some possibilities of using different toxins, especially those from arachnid venoms, which have shown some potential application in diseases involving pain, hypertension, epilepsy and erectile dysfunction. A new generation of drugs is likely to emerge from peptides, including those found in animal venoms.